


The Way We Talk About Rape in This Fandom is Fucked

by orphan_account



Category: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Genre: Gen, Meta, Rape, Rape Culture
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-11
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-30 16:32:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 806
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10880661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: I don't want to talk about this either but you guys are bringing it up all the time so now we're going to have a chat.





	The Way We Talk About Rape in This Fandom is Fucked

**Author's Note:**

> Before you flame me with tired arguments in the comments, check out my profile page cos I've got you covered.
> 
> Update 5/13/17: Thank you to everyone who has commented thus far. Your contributions to the continuation of this conversation are really valuable to me and I appreciate them.
> 
> (Also s/o to ao3 user 'Jeez' who told me my life was empty. You made me laugh really hard.)
> 
> I have some commentary to tack on to the end of this essay as I have been receiving comments. It will be in the notes below!
> 
> It's been real, guys, but I think I'm gonna tap out, orphan this, and let you guys chat amongst yourselves. I hope this was food for thought.

I will acknowledge that it’s perfectly fine and possible to go on with your daily life not wanting to talk about the aspect of canon that is commentary on rape and rape culture. It’s not a comfortable topic and it isn’t exactly a fun and games thing to talk about. So, I don’t really give a shit if you reblog seven hundred pictures of Dennis’s hair talking about how fluffy it is and how soft he looks. I think it’s kind of weird but it’s not hurting anyone so whatever. Go live your life. Glenn Howerton is a man with a captivating appearance and life is too short to pretend otherwise. Live your dreams.

My issue is with people who are actually bringing the conversation around to CSA and rape. Once a serious topic is on the table, we have graduated out of the ‘fun and games’ territory. We have to act and talk like grown-ups with we discuss rape. This means looking at the canon holistically to break down its treatment of rape and it means having an actual discussion with people who disagree with you instead of trying to crush all controversial words. The way everyone talks about rape is extra creepy because I have seen people attempt to squash any sign of conflicting opinions. This is not the way to talk about rape. Ever.

Here is the truth: Dennis Reynolds is a rapist. He is so blatantly and wholly a rapist that I am genuinely surprised that this fandom is full of young women who want to give him a hug. I personally love Dennis as a character and find him to be fascinating, but the idea of being alone with him in an alleyway at night is terrifying. This video of Dennis cornering a girl on a cruise ship alone should be enough of an argument: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okqrUnXTcfo>

I personally cannot watch that video without cringing about half the time so I wouldn’t be surprised if it was the same way for anyone else. In fact, that’s part of the problem. I think possibly in struggling to deal with our cognitive dissonance in liking such a despicable character, we have literally forgotten that the actual character can be uncomfortable or even triggering to watch. Nowadays, I see more people trigger warning for Dennis’s CSA than I see trigger warning for the fact that he’s an actual sexual predator. This is disturbing to me because it seems like we have completely forgotten his in-show female victims and people in real life who have been preyed upon by men like Dennis. We have perhaps overstepped our empathy for the character. Empathy for bad fictional characters is not inherently bad, but when it comes to erasing his sex crimes, we have a problem that potentially affects actual people.

Another issue is the way Dennis’s CSA is discussed. I have been around long enough to know of a world where Dennis’s CSA had not yet been revealed on the show. Before his CSA was revealed, his character still made perfect sense to me. After his CSA was revealed, he still pretty much made the same sense as always except his life was even sadder now. The point here that I’m trying to make is that I have seen many people make the claim that Dennis is so terrible to women because of his CSA. One traumatic event did not magically change Dennis from a good person into a rapist and misogynist. It’s kind of fucked to have a lot of discourse acting like all of his problems can be pinpointed to that one event. Especially because it doesn’t take into consideration the many people may be uncomfortable with this discussion but feel too intimidated to say so. Discussion about CSA is literally unavoidable in this fandom nowadays. So, it’s not all fun and games to discuss these topics every single day and then to shut down anyone who disagrees with you.

Here's the thing. Dennis Reynolds is a fictional character. In theory, how you feel about him in your own personal feelings land is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. How he is talked about in theory is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. Because it’s all made up. I am not going to use words like ‘rape-apologist’ or ‘internalized misogyny’ or what the fuck ever buzzwords people use in arguments because it’s dumb to say that about a thing that is all made up. But if you’re going to talk about rape and you’re going to talk about it in a way that is alienating and inappropriate, then we have a problem.

Again, it’s totally fine to just reblog pictures of Glenn’s hair. But if you’re going to add rape discussion to the mix, think before you talk.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this essay when I was feeling pretty angry and frustrated, so I think I didn't make some points very clear and may have come off as overly aggressive or telling people to not have fun. Just to be clear, I do not want people to stop having fun. Go live your dreams writing, idk, one of those omegaverse fics where all the dudes go into heat and have self-lubricating anuses and get pregnant. Or a fic where Mac and Dennis hug and give each other flowers. Whatever. It's all made up. Live your dreams. 
> 
> What I hope people take away from this essay is that I think there is a lack of conversation surrounding this topic and there is active hostility towards people stating actual facts. I partly included statements like "Dennis is a rapist" and a discussion of the way his CSA was treated in order to see if there was going to be any hostility in the comments section for even stating those ideas in my essay. And unfortunately, I was correct; I did receive hostility for making the simple statement that Dennis is a rapist.
> 
> I am just one person and I do not have the answer as to how rape should be addressed in conversation or in writing. I am not morally pure, nor do I think I have moral purity relative to anyone else. All I can say is that I hope this essay inspires future conversations, respectful ones that are open to a wide range of opinions and experiences. Not just with me in my comments section but between each other in the public sphere. Give each other good faith and stop with the goddamn name-calling and witch-hunts. 
> 
> Here is my new favorite picture of Glenn Howerton: http://i.imgur.com/VIYadvN.png
> 
> Feel free to post your own in the comments below.


End file.
